Education

For the 10th year in a row, the Sag Harbor School District is proposing a spending plan that stays under the state-mandated cap on tax levy increases while maintaining all programs, services, and extracurricular activities and sports.

On the table is a $44.87 million budget for 2021-22. The projected tax levy is $40.32 million, a 1.48-percent increase from this year, but still slightly under the levy limit. Year over year, the budget would increase by 1.22 percent.

 Springs School officials released updated 2021-22 budget projections during Monday's school board work session. Among the highlights was the news that this year's projected tax levy increase has been trimmed from 3.91 percent down to 2.61 percent — still within state limits on tax-levy increases — although that number is not yet set in stone.

Shay Siegel and Mai Ismail have something in common: writing poetry. Ms. Siegel is a young-adult author and Mai is a high school student who hopes someday to publish her work, but they both use poetry as an outlet for expressing emotions that can often be difficult.

Here's what's happening locally for kids and teens this week.

This year, high school seniors can expect graduation ceremonies that inch closer to the traditional norms of past years, thanks to new guidelines announced by New York's governor on Monday which expand capacity over 2020's limitations.

The LongHouse Reserve, Amber Waves Farm, the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, and Duck Creek Farm are among the places that Springs School students will likely visit in the coming months, as field trips appear to be on the horizon once again.

Over the next several weeks, the Montauk School has activities promoting well-being lined up for each grade, starting this week with the eighth grade all the way down through prekindergarten during the first week of June.

Normally, Wellness Week was to happen all at once, Montauk teachers explained in an announcement, but Covid-19 forced them to make some changes to the program.

For the first time in its 12-year history of offering prekindergarten, the Sag Harbor School District will offer a full-day program next year. Parents of incoming prekindergarten students in Sag Harbor will have the opportunity next Thursday to learn all about it.

East Hampton High School students have been busy networking with and learning job-oriented skills from professionals through the school's partnership with Career and Employment Options, a company focused on boosting opportunities for students of all learning levels, including those with disabilities.

The East Hampton Middle School has a new face, sort of, in the principal's office. Adam Fine, who was East Hampton High School principal for 10 years and is now the assistant district superintendent, is filling in for Charles Soriano, who is out on medical leave through the end of the school year.

The Children's Museum of the East End is opening up more hours for more fun, and other activities coming up for kids and teens.

A 3-0 win over Miller Place Monday night put East Hampton at 8-1-1, with a good chance at winning or sharing a league title.